


stirringofbirds between my arms

by Sometimesyoufly (faile02)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-17
Updated: 2013-06-17
Packaged: 2017-12-15 05:39:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/845937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faile02/pseuds/Sometimesyoufly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She has a date. Greg, from SHIELD’s science department. He seems nice enough, all floppy hair and charming smile. Nobody at the tower is happy with her dating, but Pepper calmly tells them off, and lets Tony run a background check. The kid seems clean, and if both Steve and Clint are waiting in the lobby with raised brows and arms crossed, Darcy firmly ignores them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	stirringofbirds between my arms

**Author's Note:**

> There is a brief undertone of physical violence on a date. Nothing is graphically depicted, and Darcy handles off screen.

Darcy bruises easily. Mostly, she’s is used to them. There’s always a mark somewhere, on her knees or her thighs, sometimes on her arms, that she can never place, never remembers what she did to warrant the raised bump of black and blue. 

It’s a joke around the lab, Jane poking Darcy with a stick, waiting to see if it blossomed into some weird shape. Erik liked to name them, usually after they’d all been up for a few days, finishing some crazy scheme of Jane’s. 

It’s even worse at Avenger’s Tower. There’s too many bumbling boys, robots who drop things, and more than one scientist that likes to make things explode. Once, exactly once, Clint joking pushed Darcy off the couch. It hadn’t hurt, and she had laughed along with the rest of them, Clint’s little revenge at a Robin Hood joke she’d made. 

She forgets about it, as she usually does, until there is a horrified gasp from halfway across the kitchen, a worried apology spilling from Clint’s lips. After that, she takes to wearing long sleeves so she doesn’t worry anyone. 

***  
She has a date. Greg, from SHIELD’s science department. He seems nice enough, all floppy hair and charming smile. Nobody at the tower is happy with her dating, but Pepper calmly tells them off, and lets Tony run a background check. The kid seems clean, and if both Steve and Clint are waiting in the lobby with raised brows and arms crossed, Darcy firmly ignores them. 

***  
Only a few hours pass, before Darcy’s stomping back through the TV room, pouring herself a drink and putting together a bowl of ice cream. Jane knows the look on Darcy’s face, makes everyone steer clear of the angry girl. Steve ignores her though, follow’s Darcy back to her room with a box of cookies and a six pack of beer. He looks too ernest for Darcy slam the door in his face, instead lets him in to watch cartoons with her, listens to his stories until she’s calm. 

Steve doesn’t ask her what happened, has his own suspicions but doesn’t want to pry. He just distracts her until Darcy’s asleep on the couch, her head on his thigh, some princess singing in the background. She looks beautiful, and Steve want to capture it on paper. There’s not much around, just a yellow legal pad and pen, but it’s enough for a decent sketch, catching her likeness in quick strokes and clean lines. He falls asleep next to her, head tilted back, feet up on table. 

***  
The smell of coffee and bacon wakes him. Steve blinks awake, taking a few seconds to focus on Darcy at the stove, clearly making breakfast with one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. He shuffles, alerting her that he’s awake, and is rewarded with a bright smile. 

“I made bacon and eggs.”

“I see that,” Steve smiles, stretches his arms up over his head, comes over to get some coffee. He looks helplessly at the cabinets, unsure where the mugs are.

“Here,” Darcy laughs, reaching up to pull one down. The sleeves of her sweater fall, revealing a hint of blue. Steve’s eyes widen, grab her hand and push the sweater up to her elbow. There’s a bruise all along her forearm, finger shaped and angry. 

“Darcy-”

“It’s fine, Steve. I took care of it.” There’s a faint blush to Darcy’s cheeks. “I just bruise easily.”

There’s a burning in the pit of his stomach. He tries again. “Darcy. No man should ever be the cause of those bruises. I want... can I?” And then he was pulling her close, tipping her head back, and kissing her. It’s soft at first, waiting for Darcy’s permission, for her arms to wrap around Steve’s neck and pull him even closer, for her laughter against his mouth, and the return of her smile. 

“I didn’t think you liked me like that, Rogers.”

Steve playfully bumps their noses, nipping at her lips. “Lewis, I like you a whole lot more than that little kiss.” He likes the smile on her face, wants to keep it there forever. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.” Darcy’s face wrinkles slightly, “Somebody might be getting a transfer. Coulson tells me they need an agent over in Kazakhstan. Besides, when I walked away, he was still curled up on the floor. I’ve been training with Natasha.”

Steve looks delighted. His hands slip around to rest on the small of her back, “I won’t mess with you, then.”

“How about you just kiss me again, instead?”

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from ee cummings: [I Have Found What You Are Like](http://hellopoetry.com/poem/i-have-found-what-you-are-like/)


End file.
